Ralph walsh



(No ModeL) R WALSH BOX 0R REGEPTGLB FOR PULVRULBNT 0R GRANULAR MATERIALS.

N0.591,708. Patented Oct. 12,1897.

wentoz UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RALPH NVALSH, OF IVASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

BOX 0R RECEPTACLE FOR PULVERULENT OR GRANULAR MATERIALS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 591,708, dated October 12, 1897'. I Application filed August 14. 1897. Serial Na/48,242. (No model.)

T0 all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, RALPH IVALSH, of the city of IVa-shington, in the District of Columbia, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Boxes or Receptacles for Pulverulent and Granular Materials, of which the following is a specification.

It is the object of my inventionto provide a box with simple and efficient means by which a portion of the contents of the box can at will be separated from the remainder and held in the upper part of the box in a position where it can be readily got at. Un der my invention the means for this purpose consists of a shelf, tray, or diaphragm in the upper part of the box, which ts closely three sides of the box, with a slot or opening intervening between its remaining edge and the fourth side of the box.

The shelf, when the box is used to hold tooth-powder, is preferably bowed lengthwise with the convex side uppermost, so as to conform to the general shape of the bristleface of the tooth-brush, which usually is concave lengthwise.

The box of course has a removable ncover, and this cover can be of any suitable kind. I prefer on some accounts a hinged cover, the hinge being on the side of the box against which the longer side of the shelf fits, and I provide the hinge with a guard or shield by which the powder is kept from the Y joint, which affords a path for the powder from the cover to the shelf, or vice versa, when the box is open, without reaching the joint, and permits the cleansing of the cover, thus preventing the powder from packing behind -the hinge and interfering with the closing of the lid, and when the box is closed forms a shield which prevents powder from escaping'from the box by sifting through the hinge-joint.

In the accompanying drawings, to which I shall now refer for a more complete understanding of my invention, Figure 1 is a view of a box embodying my invention in its preferred form, the cover of the box being thrown back. Figs. 2, 3, and 4 are cross-sections of the box, illustrating the manner in which it is manipulated in order to bring a portion of its contents on the shelf or tray.

The box A may be of any suitable size, shape, and material. In this case it is rectangular incross-section. It is closed by a removablelid or cover B, which may be hinged, as shown, or can be otherwise applied so as to be removable.

IVithin the box and a short distance below its top is a shelf or diaphragm C, which fits closely three sides of the box, but along the -fourth side isv of such dimensions as to leave between it and the adjacent side of the box a longitudinal slot or opening ct for the passage of the pulverulent or granular contents of the box. The shelf can be either fixed or removable and may be of any suitable construction. In this instance it is a simple plain strip of metal which is soldered to three sides of the box.

I prefer, when the box is used for holding tooth-powder, to bow the shelf lengthwise and it it in the box convex side uppermost. In this shape it enables the user to conveniently .take up with his tooth-brush the powder which is held on it. I also, when the cover is hinged, prefer to provide a shield or guard, which, as shown, consists of a plate b, attached at one edge to the cover and curved so as to extend over and partially around the hinge, for the purposes hereinbrefore indicated.

Thelmanner of manipulating this box will be readily understood by reference to Figs. 2, 3, and 4.

The box in its usual position is shown in Fig. 2. I/Vhen it is desired to deposit a portion of its contents upon the shelf or tray, the box is slowly turned completely over once, the movement being in the direction of the arrow l in Fig. 2. When it is turned far enough over to be bottom side up, as in Fig. 3, the material having passed through the slot or opening c, so as to fill the space between the shelf or tray and the box-lid, then as the movement continues until the box is again top uppermost, as in Fig. 4, all of the material will pass back into the box below the shelf or tray save such as is caught and held by the latter, as indicated in the figure last named. By lifting the cover access can be had without difficulty to the portion of material thus held. The same result can be reached by simply inverting the box in the direction indicated by arrow 2 in Fig. 2 and then returning it to its original posit-ion through the course indicated by the'arrow in Fig. 3.

IOO

as and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.

2. A box or receptacle provided with a removable lid or cover and containing near its.

top a shelf or diaphragm distinct and separate from the cover, bowed in the direction of its length, closely iitting, convex side uppermost, three sides of the box, and bounded along its remaining edge by a slot or opening a, substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.

3. A box or receptacle containing near its top a shelf or diaphragm, distinct and separate from the cover, fitting closely three sides of the box, and bounded along its remaining edge by a slot or opening a in combination with a cover hinged to that side of the box opposite to the side on which the slot ct is situated, and a hinge guard or shield b attached to and moving with the cover, substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set .my hand this 23d day of July, 1897.

Y RALPH WALSH.

/Vitnesses:

-- EWELL A. DICK,

E. IIUME TALBERT. 

